Jamaica Bay, shallow inlet of the Atlantic Ocean covering about 20 square miles (50 square km) on the southwestern shore of Long Island, southeastern New York, U.S. Part of the Port of New York, the bay is sheltered on the south by Rockaway Peninsula and is traversed by the Cross Bay Boulevard. Dotted with marshy islands, Jamaica Bay connects with the ocean to the southwest by way of Rockaway Inlet, which is bridged. Near the entrance channel is Coney Island. On the Brooklyn shore is Floyd Bennett Field, a former U.S. naval air station that is now part of the Gateway National Recreation Area; on the northeastern shore, at Idlewild, is the John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Learn More in these related articles:

body of salt water covering approximately one-fifth of Earth’s surface and separating the continents of Europe and Africa to the east from those of North and South America to the west. The ocean’s name, derived from Greek mythology, means the “Sea of Atlas.” It is second...

island in the Atlantic Ocean that comprises the southeasternmost part of New York state, U.S. The island lies roughly parallel to the southern shore of Connecticut, from which it is separated to the north by Long Island Sound. Long Island’s western end forms part of the harbour of New York...

constituent state of the United States of America, one of the 13 original colonies and states. New York is bounded to the west and north by Lake Erie, the Canadian province of Ontario, Lake Ontario, and the Canadian province of Quebec; to the east by the New England states of Vermont,...